OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING IN AUSTRALIA
NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R and A
Melbourne, Australia: Australians Matt Millar, Kurt Barnes and Rick Kulacz have earned their places in the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s, following 36 holes of International Final Qualifying Australasia at Kingston Heath Golf Club, today.
Despite a bogey-bogey finish on the 7,062-yard (6,455-metre), par-72 Melbourne Sandbelt course, Millar’s 10-under-par total of 134 left him clear at the top of the leaderboard; the 34-year-old securing his first appearance in a Major Championship. Barnes finished one stroke back on nine under par after two rounds. The third and final Open berth was settled by a play-off between Stephen Leaney and Rick Kulacz, after the pair finished tied on eight under. Both parred the first extra hole, but Kulacz prevailed on the second, after Leaney missed his putt for par. Like Millar, 25-year-old Kulacz will be making his Major Championship debut at Sandwich in July. For Canberra's Millar, the result crowns a memorable week in which his wife gave birth to their second child, Charlotte.
“My wife gave birth on Wednesday so I haven’t had a chance to play much golf and practice, so maybe that’s the secret for me,” he explained. “I can’t wait. This has been a goal I set this year and it’s good to achieve one, so now I can move on to the next one.
“I’ve played a bit of golf over in Britain when I was on Tour but never at Royal St George’s, so I’m really looking forward to the experience.”
Barnes, 29, ensures his second Open start in as many years, and the New South Welshman is determined to put lessons learnt in 2010 at St Andrews to good use.
“Kingston Heath has really suited my game over the last couple of years, I put in some hard work and it’s really paying off,” said Barnes. “It’s great. It was my aim to qualify and to put in some hard yards this year, so I can get over there and play well and make the most of the opportunity.”
The third of the qualifiers, Kulacz, was thrilled with the result, particularly as he has not been playing his best golf of late.
“I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be on the first tee of the play-off, but I have been battling hooks, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d hit it 70 metres left,” he said.
“My first Major; it’s going to be great. An Australian has won there before, so I’m really looking forward to what it’s all about.”
The next International Final Qualifying event of 2011 takes place in Africa on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 January at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.
Full hole-by-hole scores from IFQ Australasia can be found on www.Opengolf.com.
FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
Australians Stephen Leaney, Kurt Barnes and Matthew Millar currently lead International Final Qualifying (IFQ) Australasia at 6-under par following the conclusion of Round 1.
Playing at Kingston Heath Golf Club on Melbourne’s famed Sandbelt, the trio made the most of the near perfect conditions to shoot to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the first 18 holes.
Hot on their heels are Peter Fowler, Adam Crawford and Andrew Buckle who both shot first round scores of 5-under par to put themselves in contention.
Having secured an Open berth after finishing first at 2010 IFQ Australasia at the same venue, Barnes knows exactly what it takes to shoot low rounds at Kingston Heath.
“I’ve done a little bit of work on my putting over the last few days which is really paying off,” said the big-hitting Barnes.
“I like Kingston Heath, there are good memories here and the layout is really suited to my game.”
As for his prospects of adding a Major to his 2011 schedule Barnes says it would be a dream come true, but is mindful that he is only half way there.
“It would be awesome to play at Royal St George’s, a course I’ve never played before and it would be nice to get there. So 18 holes to go, we will see if I can get there.”
For Millar, a spot in the 2011 Open would top off an incredible week in which his wife also gave birth to a baby girl.
As the rain clouds move in, Round 2 of IFQ Australasia is now underway at Kingston Heath.
Play is expected to conclude at 6.30pm Melbourne time tonight with the top 3 players earning a start in the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s.
LATER NEWS
FINALS TOTALS FROM AUSTRALIA:
CLICK HERE
Melbourne, Australia: Australians Matt Millar, Kurt Barnes and Rick Kulacz have earned their places in the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s, following 36 holes of International Final Qualifying Australasia at Kingston Heath Golf Club, today.
Despite a bogey-bogey finish on the 7,062-yard (6,455-metre), par-72 Melbourne Sandbelt course, Millar’s 10-under-par total of 134 left him clear at the top of the leaderboard; the 34-year-old securing his first appearance in a Major Championship. Barnes finished one stroke back on nine under par after two rounds. The third and final Open berth was settled by a play-off between Stephen Leaney and Rick Kulacz, after the pair finished tied on eight under. Both parred the first extra hole, but Kulacz prevailed on the second, after Leaney missed his putt for par. Like Millar, 25-year-old Kulacz will be making his Major Championship debut at Sandwich in July. For Canberra's Millar, the result crowns a memorable week in which his wife gave birth to their second child, Charlotte.
“My wife gave birth on Wednesday so I haven’t had a chance to play much golf and practice, so maybe that’s the secret for me,” he explained. “I can’t wait. This has been a goal I set this year and it’s good to achieve one, so now I can move on to the next one.
“I’ve played a bit of golf over in Britain when I was on Tour but never at Royal St George’s, so I’m really looking forward to the experience.”
Barnes, 29, ensures his second Open start in as many years, and the New South Welshman is determined to put lessons learnt in 2010 at St Andrews to good use.
“Kingston Heath has really suited my game over the last couple of years, I put in some hard work and it’s really paying off,” said Barnes. “It’s great. It was my aim to qualify and to put in some hard yards this year, so I can get over there and play well and make the most of the opportunity.”
The third of the qualifiers, Kulacz, was thrilled with the result, particularly as he has not been playing his best golf of late.
“I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be on the first tee of the play-off, but I have been battling hooks, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d hit it 70 metres left,” he said.
“My first Major; it’s going to be great. An Australian has won there before, so I’m really looking forward to what it’s all about.”
The next International Final Qualifying event of 2011 takes place in Africa on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 January at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.
Full hole-by-hole scores from IFQ Australasia can be found on www.Opengolf.com.
FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
Australians Stephen Leaney, Kurt Barnes and Matthew Millar currently lead International Final Qualifying (IFQ) Australasia at 6-under par following the conclusion of Round 1.
Playing at Kingston Heath Golf Club on Melbourne’s famed Sandbelt, the trio made the most of the near perfect conditions to shoot to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the first 18 holes.
Hot on their heels are Peter Fowler, Adam Crawford and Andrew Buckle who both shot first round scores of 5-under par to put themselves in contention.
Having secured an Open berth after finishing first at 2010 IFQ Australasia at the same venue, Barnes knows exactly what it takes to shoot low rounds at Kingston Heath.
“I’ve done a little bit of work on my putting over the last few days which is really paying off,” said the big-hitting Barnes.
“I like Kingston Heath, there are good memories here and the layout is really suited to my game.”
As for his prospects of adding a Major to his 2011 schedule Barnes says it would be a dream come true, but is mindful that he is only half way there.
“It would be awesome to play at Royal St George’s, a course I’ve never played before and it would be nice to get there. So 18 holes to go, we will see if I can get there.”
For Millar, a spot in the 2011 Open would top off an incredible week in which his wife also gave birth to a baby girl.
As the rain clouds move in, Round 2 of IFQ Australasia is now underway at Kingston Heath.
Play is expected to conclude at 6.30pm Melbourne time tonight with the top 3 players earning a start in the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s.
LATER NEWS
FINALS TOTALS FROM AUSTRALIA:
CLICK HERE
Labels: OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Tuesday, January 11, 2011
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home